FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Black Scoter - Yes/ Clarke's Grebe - No

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

Nov. 6, 2004
Mud Island and Ensley Bottoms
Shelby Co. TN

The river had risen and taken back the sand bars and captured most of the 
rock dikes so the large eddy used by the Clarke's Grebe was gone. They only 
birds 
using the area between the rock dikes were 3 Ruddy Ducks and a Pied-billed 
Grebe. A few DC Cormorants were in the area and a single Common Loon (different 
plumage from Friday's bird) was feeding between the south dike and the bridge. 
A few White Pelicans were seen soaring and there were a few Red-tailed Hawks 
traveling. I went to the Pits and returned around noon.

I decided to go to the north parking lot at the mouth of the Wolf River and 
see what might be using the upper area of the Loosahatchie Bar. Straight out on 
the far side of the river were three sleeping birds. One was obviously a male 
Ruddy and the other two were larger and different in color. The brown bird 
appeared to be a female Lesser Scaup but the other was two toned gray brown and 
showed a little light area on what cheek I could see as it slept. I decided to 
wait out the sleepers and sure enough a low flying plane woke them up. I was 
able to get photos of an adult female Black Scoter. 

At TVA Lake, which I was informed has been put off limits again because of 
the upping of the terror alert (you just have to watch which color alert we are 
in) there was the first contingent of Scaup, a few Ring-necked Ducks and 20 
Ring-billed Gulls, 2 immature Herring, 1 Bonaparte's, 2 Pied-billed Grebes, a 
few Coots and Cormorants, 6 Great Egrets plus the injured Snowy Egret.

The Wind Birds at the pits were in a state of constant panic alert as two 
Cooper's Hawks were chasing each other around the area, appearing and 
disappearing at random times. There are still 3000 plus Least Sandpipers, at 
least 100 
Dunlin, 3 Western Sandpipers, 3 Pectoral Sandpipers and 3 Wilson's Snipe. I 
gave 
up on the shorebirds and kicked around in the sparrow areas and found a large 
flock of White-crowned plus a few Lincoln's and the regular wintering fare 
with one surprise, a bright immature LeConte's nestled in some Panicum.


Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL'COOT / TLBA
Bartlett, TN


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